Housewarming dinner party

[Goodwitch9]

I want to throw a small housewarming dinner party next month. Can anyone suggest a stress-free but delicious menu please? For six people.

How about doing a range of tapas? You can make the majority in advance and it’s such a friendly, casual meal.
Patatas bravas, tortilla, some chorizo, salad, crusty bread, dips, prawns…. Loads of dishes to choose from. Can also cater it to different diets pretty easily.

That sounds scrummy Possum but we often go to a local tapas place as a group, so probably need something different. Will have to make your menu for another set of friends!

I'm assuming 6 people who eat anything?

Pot roasted chicken with dates and lemons: www.alisoneroman.com/recipes/one-pot-chicken

With a chopped tomato/cucumber/pepper/parsley salad, and sweet potato wedges roasted with paprika

Dessert of sliced citrus fruit with orange blossom water and mint

Bottle of fizz for toasting the new house!

Any food restrictions?

Chicken Marbella Ottolenghi style!

https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/roasted-chicken-legs-with-dates-olives-and-capers

for pud a pavlova?

most of this is prep ahead with minimal to do when guests arrive. X

The easiest ever menu consists of soup for starter, roast, ice cream for dessert.

Cook your favourite soup from scratch the day before and heat it up when guests arrive. Or buy some ready made from the shops and add extra herbs to disguise its shop-boughtiness.

Cook a roast from scratch and roast the veggies (carrots, peppers, potatoes etc) so you are only dealing with oven stuff rather than a mix of oven and stove top. Or buy a pre-roast chicken and just do the veggies yourself. Everyone loves a roast but fewer and fewer people cook them every week and so appreciate it more when someone else does.

Faff about and make your own ice cream from scratch. Or buy it and serve with a liquor poured over to make it fancy. Men in particular seem to love ice cream and always ask for seconds.

Super simple and stress free!

Tikka traybake realfood.tesco.com/recipes/anjalis-ta-da-tikka-traybake.html 
Followed by chocolate mousse https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/recipes/a535287/student-recipe-cornershop-cheats-chocolate-mousse/

I'd do a one pot main (beef bourgignon/a good curry/anything that can be left in oven on low while you drink wine and socialise) and something simple for pud that you can prep like crumble or a cold one (cheesecake/roulade)
Cheese board maybe

Thanks everyone! Should have said, 3 of group are veggie.

I'm stealing the tikka traybake for a dinner party, sounds lovely.

The easiest pudding in the world is lemon posset. A James Martin recipe here:

• 600ml/21fl oz double cream
• 150g/5oz caster sugar
• juice of 2 large lemons, and zest (I never use the zest as I think it spoils the texture, but this is in the original recipe)

Serves 6

Put cream and sugar in a small saucepan, and bring to the boil slowly (stir so that the sugar dissolves)

Boil gently for three minutes, then take off the heat

Add the lemon juice, (and zest if you're using it), stir well and then pour into 6 glasses/dishes and then into the fridge to set.

I usually serve this with shortbread biscuits - Sainsbury's sometimes sell little ones in the shape of little dogs, which are cute!

It's gotten a fair bit of airtime on MN recently, but for very good reason because it is so delicious and low stress/work. The https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/confit-tandoori-chickpeas Ottolenghi Confit Tandoori Chickpeas. The yogurt is a brilliant accompaniment, so don't skip it! For a dinner party I would serve family style with the below dishes. I would skip starters, but never pudding.

Ottolenghi Pulled Pork Vindaloo (can be made in advance and reheated)

Dishoom Chilli Broccoli Salad (dressing and salad components can be prepped in advance and toosed together right before serving)

Rice (classic fragrant pilau)

Bread (naan or parathas)

I know this looks time-consuming, but you can make this the day before, and then put it into the oven just before you sit down for your starters.

It looks amazing, and it tastes great too

Squash and ricotta pastry wreath

Are you planning on cooking Veggie for everyone or doing meat as well? I'd go for 2curries and a dhal. Rice, naan, popadoms chutneys, maybe a dry paneer tikka with onion salad for starter. Easy to prep ahead and tasty with plenty of choice.

Starter: mushroom and walnut pate, nice bread or crackers. Tastes lovely, very easy, can be made well in advance.
https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/vegan-mushroom-walnut-pate/

Main course: Vegetable biryani - this recipe is very good. You have to look a long way down the notes to see her suggestion of how to make a vegetable biryani rather than chicken, but it does work. https://www.recipetineats.com/biryani/ She suggests accompaniments.

Pudding: Mascarpone and lime torte. Delicious, very easy.

PS I wouldn't bother with the chocolate leaves.

https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/creamy-tarragon-chicken-casserole/

This taste delicious, is easy to make and will stand being 45 minutes late serving. Put some green vegetables with it

https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/seville-orange-and-ginger-pie/

make this ahead of time, the day before and then an easy make ahead starter - you'll then be able to enjoy the evening with your guests and not be int he kitchen all night

sorry I missed the fact it was for vegetarians

https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/vegetarian/mushroom-wellington/. this is a good dinner party center piece as it looks lovely

Oh my goodness, is that an old Sainsbury's recipe card from the mid nineties? My mum used to have it! I remember her cursing the damn chocolate leaves!

Yes, that's it. I've probably got the card somewhere but I found that image online. Sainsbury's has an archive, usefully. I made it a few times and never fiddled about making chocolate leaves! Not likely to turn out well, given my lack of aptitude for fancy presentation.

I would serve
Smoked mackerel or smoked trout pate with home-made melba toast (both can be made ahead of time)
A red wine casserole either beef or game (better made the day before and reheated) with either a leafy, green salad or a steamed, green vegetable and potato & celeriac puree or potato gratin
Pudding would either be something fruity, such as a crumble or cheese and biscuits with grapes, fig mustard and chutney

@chopinwaltz26 but they're mainly vegetarians!

@SummaLuvin If doing a light lunch, would you say the Ottolenghi chickpea dish would be ok on its own (with rice and salad) or would you need the other curries, too?

@AlbertCampion if a light lunch you definitely wouldn't need anything else. Depending on what you mean by light lunch I question if the dish might be too heavy even without other curries, confit means cooked gently in oil, and that makes it delightful, but also makes it rich.